Fulham in talks to sign Turkish defender?

Fulham have offered Besiktas around £3.9m in a bid to sign their Turkish international full back Gökhan Gönül, according to reports from Turkey.

Initial negotiations over the potential transfer of the right back have gone well and Besiktas are open to letting their experienced defender leave as they are close to concluding a deal to sign Ghanaian defender Daniel Opare from Porto. Gonul has been widely regarded as one of the best attacking full-backs in Turkey for the best part of a decade, following his key role in helping Fenerbache reach the quarter finals of the Champions’ Leauge for the first time in the history in 2007-08.

Whether Gonul will be considered pivotal enough to Fulham’s summer prospects to allow head of football operations Tony Khan to set aside the club’s policy of not opting to sign players over the age of 29 remains to be seen. The 33 year-old could be a direct replacement for current right back Ryan Fredericks, who has turned down the club’s offer of a new deal, and is expected to sign for West Ham on a free transfer over the coming weeks. Gonul has three Turkish league titles to his name and is reportedly excited by the prospect of moving to England.